She is an Astronomer conference: Celebrating success and seeking solutions

Date: 22 and 23 April 2010

Venue: Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London The conference will be opened by Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell. There will be talks on pioneering women in astronomy, talks by female scientists on their work and careers, and talks on gender issues, work-life balance, careers, mentoring, psychology/culture, statistics. One outcome of the meeting will be a list of suggestions for supporting and encouraging women in astronomy in support of the IAU Resolution passed at the IAU General Assembly in August 2009. Presentations (talks and posters) will be published on the She is an Astronomer website. If you would like to attend the meeting, please register on-line, indicating if you would like to give a talk or present a poster. Space is limited, so please register early. The deadline for registration is 8 March. More information: http://www.sheisanastronomer.org/index.php/Conference

Global Astronomy Month April 2010: One People, One Sky

Now that the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is coming to an end, what is there to look forward to for astronomy enthusiasts? Even more events building on the year's great success! 100 Hours of Astronomy cornerstone project, co-organized by AWB, brought out unprecedented numbers of enthusiasts to share their passion for astronomy with the biggest crowds ever. AWB is now planning Global Astronomy Month for April 2010 as the follow-up to 100 Hours of Astronomy.

All information will be posted on the Global Astronomy Month web site as the excitement builds: http://www.gam-awb.org/

Beauty Without Borders (BWB) is a project of Astronomers Without Borders and Sidewalk Astronomers that will take place around the world, from 25 to 30 January 2010. Join this event from anywhere in the world, even if you are going to watch from your deck or backyard. Use binoculars if you haven’t got a telescope. Get a group of friends, family or the local astronomy club together, and go to the street and enjoy the beautiful views of the Red Planet. Through BWB, we hope to share the beauty of the celestial events. More information here: http://beautywithoutborders-mars2010.blogspot.com/

Vote for Israeli IYA2009 stamp in an online poll

The Israeli post office is holding a poll to decide on 2009's most beautiful stamp. Members of the public have the opportunity to view the candidate stamps and vote for their favourite. An IYA2009 stamp is among the contenders. Voting is open until 20 February 2010. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/759/

Throughout IYA2009 Australia has witnessed an extraordinary celebration of astronomy as inspiration for art and cultural exchange. The latest success story is a project named Ilgarijiri, which means “things belonging to the sky” in the Wajarri Yamatji language of the Murchison region in Western Australia. Astronomy has a strong presence in the area, which is home to the Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory and a potential location for the future Square Kilometre Array. Astronomy also plays a significant role in the stories and traditions of the indigenous people of Australia. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/754/

Egypt promotes She is an Astronomer for IYA2009

As a part of IYA2009 activities in Egypt, the Planetarium Science Center in Alexandria organised She is an Astronomer camp in Saint Catherine from 11-14 December 2009. The aim of the camp was to develop the female students' thinking skills and to encourage females to pursue astronomy professionally. The importance of scientific problem solving and team work were highlighted. These values are the cornerstone of building future Egyptian women astronomers and leaders. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/746/

Dusk of IYA2009 in Iraq: an event to remember

The sky was cloudy and rainy on 31 December 2009, so the Sun was not visible, except for its wonderful memories of past IYA2009 days. There was a solution: using Stellarium Beta 10.0 software to simulate the real Sun setting that day. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/753/

Over one million people worldwide have seen the movie BLAST!

BLAST! is an IYA2009 Special project. Filmmaker Paul Devlin follows the story of his brother, Mark Devlin PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of scientists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a NASA high-altitude balloon. Newly-released ratings show that over one million people have seen the movie, and this number is set to rise significantly in the future. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/752/

Sri Lankans witness Solar Eclipse

An expedition to Northern Sri Lanka for the Annular Solar Eclipse of 15 January 2010 has been described as an unforgettable experience. The Ring of Fire not only brought amazing views but the sheer joy of being able to travel north after 30 years of war. In addition, an associated outreach programme attracted around 2000 participants. See a blog post about the expedition here: http://thilinaheenatigala.blogspot.com/2010/01/ring-of-fire-unforgettable-experience.html

Professor Abdul Jabbar, former Head of the Department of Mathematics, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET) was a legendary figure in popularisation of Astronomy in Bangladesh. He wrote about a dozen Books on astronomy which helped younger generations in Bangladesh to learn about this important subject. Professor Abdul Jabbar also was the 1st President of Bangladesh Astronomical Society which was formed in 1984. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/745/

Jamaica closes IYA2009 with a successful star party

In late December the Astronomical Association of Jamaica (AAJ) decided to run a final star party, taking place at the UWI. Mona Campus on a patio above the Physics Department. The main reason for the meet was to introduce members and friends to the fine qualities of Galileoscopes. The AAJ was given 400 units for distribution to High and Intermediate Schools in Jamaica, and this was a practice run for the training of teachers in the assembly, and care of the telescopes. http://www.astronomy2009.org/news/updates/738/

She is an Astronomer conference: Celebrating success and seeking solutions

Date: 22 and 23 April 2010

Venue: Royal Astronomical SocietyBurlington House, Piccadilly, LondonTo celebrate the ending of the IYA2009 Cornerstone Project 'She is an Astronomer', a conference is being held in London.

The conference will be opened by Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell. There will be talks on pioneering women in astronomy, talks by female scientists on their work and careers, and talks on gender issues, work-life balance, careers, mentoring, psychology/culture, statistics. One outcome of the meeting will be a list of suggestions for supporting and encouraging women in astronomy in support of the IAU Resolution passed at the IAU General Assembly in August 2009. Presentations (talks and posters) will be published on the She is an Astronomer website. If you would like to attend the meeting, please register on-line, indicating if you would like to give a talk or present a poster. Space is limited, so please register early. The deadline for registration is 8 March.

The Israeli post office is holding a poll to decide on 2009's most beautiful stamp. Members of the public have the opportunity to view the candidate stamps and vote for their favourite. An IYA2009 stamp is among the contenders. Voting is open until 20 February 2010.

Redshift 7, an IYA2009 official product, is the award-winning and best-selling planetarium-software in the world. On Redshift live astronomy enthusiasts and Redshift fans from all over the world share their passion for the sky. Redshift 7 is the official product of IYA2009.

A new Spanish site is now online, with a French counterpart expected to go live in February 2010. Redshift Online Planetarium will start in February or March, and an iPhone App (together with Celestron) will follow in spring.

January 2010

Global Astronomy Month 2010: One People, One Sky

Now that the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009) is coming to an end, what is there to look forward to for astronomy enthusiasts? Even more events building on the year's great success! 100 Hours of Astronomy cornerstone project, co-organized by AWB, brought out unprecedented numbers of enthusiasts to share their passion for astronomy with the biggest crowds ever. AWB is now planning Global Astronomy Month for April 2010 as the follow-up to 100 Hours of Astronomy.

This month-long celebration of astronomy will allow an even wider range of activities and broader participation than before. And we'll expand on the sense of participating in one global event -- a key to the success of 100 Hours of Astronomy -- by connecting events and activities around the world on the AWB web site with live streaming, video conferencing, chat and more. That's why the motto for Global Astronomy Month is AWB's own motto: One People, One Sky. It's about connecting with each other and sharing our passion with each other as well as with the public.

As a follow-up to 100 Hours of Astronomy, Global Astronomy Month is one of many projects continuing beyond IYA2009.

All information will be posted on the Global Astronomy Month web site as the excitement builds. This newsletter is the first official announcement so there is much more to come. A mailing list for news updates will begin in soon, with subscriptions available on the AWB web site.

Tour of the Universe by Children of the World -- Deadline Extended

Did you host or participate in an event involving children during IYA2009? Tour of the Universe by Children of the World is seeking contributions!

Tour of the Universe by Children of the World is a beautiful and inspirational multimedia video project made from children's contributions to the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Meant to ignite the imaginations of children and adults alike with the wonder of the cosmos -- the one thing that is truly Universal -- Tour of the Universe will be available as a free download.

StarPals, the organizer of this project, is looking for contributions in the following categories: astrophotography and nightscape photography by children, children's artwork of or inspired by the cosmos, photographs of children sharing and enjoying astronomy, and video clips related to children and astronomy. They are also looking for short audio clips of children cheering "You're a star!" in native language (groups or individual children, any language). The deadline for contributions for the IYA2009 edition has been extended to February 7.

Tour of the Universe will be available as a free download available through the StarPals International Young Astronomers' Network website and other channels and free for distribution to promote your own activities in 2010. For more information, visit www.starpals.org/projects/tour or contact Audrey Fischer or Jessi Kingan.

Big Dipper to Southern Cross

Thousands of amateur astronomers from more than 80 countries gathered for a special two-part online observing event, Big Dipper to Southern Cross, in January 2010. The first session was hosted by the Virtual Observatory in Italy on 8 January and featured the northern sky. The second session was hosted by Global Rent-a-Scope using one of their southern hemisphere telescopes in Australia. Everyone got a chance to observe the best objects in the hemisphere they can't see from home, with both sessions having guides to the sky who took images while participants chatted with each other. See the Big Dipper to Southern Cross page on the AWB web site for links to reports and blogs describing this very popular event. And watch for more sessions like this to come!

Beauty Without Borders

The Universe we live in has unlimited beauty to discover but most people fail to see it. Beauty Without Borders (BWB) aims to encourage people to stop for a moment, rediscover the Universe they live in and admire celestial events and objects just overhead by taking telescopes to the streets to share the sky with the public.

The latest event of BWB is Hello Red Planet from January 25 to 30, with the beauty of the planet Mars in focus. This will be the best time to view Mars, just as it makes its closest approach to Earth -- just under 100 million km (62.5 million miles). Mars will be a bright red object in the constellation of Cancer, outshining all but the brightest stars.

Tweetup for the Launch of Solar Dynamics Observatory

AWB Affiliate Astronomy.FM invites all Astronomers Without Borders affiliate groups, individual members and friends to attend their Virtual SDO Launch Tweetup! A Tweetup is a meeting of followers of a Twitter group (Twitter meetup), and in this case the group is the Solar Dynamics Observatory set to launch to space on February 9. NASA has been organizing Tweetups in real life on launch day for SDO followers but not everyone can make it so Astronomy.FM has stepped up with the online event. NASA says this will be their first virtual Tweetup, and they are creating special material for an exceptional online experience. On tap are information booths on SDO and the Sun, streaming video, chat room, live reports, quizzes with prizes and more. Be sure to invite your friends along. Find out more at Astronomy.FM.

Eclipse Brings Together North and South of Sri Lanka

The island nation of Sri Lanka is not big but still the recent trip south to north for an eclipse was a first for many. The northern area had been off limits to those from the south during the 30-year civil war recently ended. The trip presented many difficulties including a language barrier. But in true Astronomers Without Borders fashion, all barriers were overcome and the 2000 people in attendance were amazed by the celestial spectacle. Read more with photos on the blog of Thilina Heenatigala, the AWB National Coordinator for Sri Lanka.

New Affiliates

Do you know of groups in your area who might want to join AWB? Let them know about us and bring them into the growing global community. Programs are continuing to take shape and we want to bring in as many groups as possible from every nation on our planet.

These are the Affiliates that have joined Astronomers Without Borders since the last Newsletter:

Beauty Without Borders (BWB) is a project of Astronomers Without Borders and Sidewalk Astronomers that will take place around the world, from 25 to 30 January 2010.

Join this event from anywhere in the world, even if you are going to watch from your deck or backyard. Use binoculars if you haven’t got a telescope. Get a group of friends, family or the local astronomy club together, and go to the street and enjoy the beautiful views of the Red Planet.

Throughout IYA2009 Australia has witnessed an extraordinary celebration of astronomy as inspiration for art and cultural exchange. The latest success story is a project named Ilgarijiri, which means “things belonging to the sky” in the Wajarri Yamatji language of the Murchison region in Western Australia. Astronomy has a strong presence in the area, which is home to the Murchison Radio Astronomy Observatory and a potential location for the future Square Kilometre Array. Astronomy also plays a significant role in the stories and traditions of the indigenous people of Australia.

To connect these two perspectives, in March 2009 a group of indigenous artists from the Yamaji Arts collaboration based in Geraldton spent several days and nights with radio astronomers from Curtin University. They travelled through the region, sharing scientific and traditional stories about the Universe, rediscovering nature and observing the sky.

The result was a collection of more than 80 pieces of art exploring the theme of things belonging to the sky and strong connections with the landscape, which has subsequently toured Australia throughout 2009. The collection includes depictions of the Emu in the sky, the Seven Sisters and many other traditional stories, as well as astronomical images such as planets and supernova remnants.